Down These Spirits
by unifilar
Summary: Fifty shades of Nigel and Abby's colorful relationship. 15Alpha.


**Author's Note:** If you didn't know, spirit is another name for an alcoholic beverage, like a cherry cocktail. Enjoy. I'm so doing this again, it was fun.

#16 and #25 - DIAPER

#18 and #22 - LIZZIE

#24 - ICE-SCREAM

#32 - COLLEGE

#33 - LOCKDOWN

#38 - JEWELS

#39 and #46 - Set in the presumption Nigel and Abby are married and living together

* * *

_Love is not something we find, love is something we do._

- Author unknown

**1. Comfort**

As a desperate attempt to achieve comfort, Abby began to bicker with Nigel, who eagerly caught the hint and went along with this diversion of reality.

**2. Kiss**

Nigel was shocked to catch a glimpse of Abby's sunkissed beauty as she stood gazing on the overhang; the unpredicted glamour was so stunning that he hurriedly assumed the natural light were guilty of the deception.

**3. Soft**

His hand swept over hers, soft and delicate, and their first kiss was everything that their relationship was and would be- gradual and powerful, casual and enlivening.

**4. Pain**

Nigel knew then that he'd never feel a pain as worse as the one he was feeling right in that moment, when Abby laid helpless on that hospital bed.

**5. Potatoes**

And as Abby diligently recited gourmet recipes for her pupil's benefit, slaving over the makeshift stove to demonstrate her words, Nigel was dutifully juggling potatoes- truly, he was a master of his craft; at least, he was, until said vegetables tumbled to the ground, along with any slim chance of Nigel Uno learning how to cook the popular French meal, 'pot au feu', that day.

**6. Rain**

The downpour flurry of words battered Nigel like a leaf in a rainstorm- and yet, he knew there was sunshine behind these clouds, because the only reason Abby was shouting at him was due to the fact that he had nearly got himself killed in the battle held only minutes before; the profound affection was merely hidden behind the facade of anger.

**7. Chocolate**

Waiting patiently on the street corner, Abby struggled to see Nigel's faint outline through the water-dusted fog, only to see that he was carrying a box of some kind; surely, it would not be chocolates, for although they were custom on a first date, Nigel knew all-too well of who chocolates reminded Abby of.

**8. Happiness**

"Happiness is a right you have as kids; don't let anyone take that right away from you," eloquently stated Nigel Uno, before Numbuh 86 (who, in spite of herself, began to tear up) lead him to the Decommissioning Room, where Abby would help him fake the erasing of memories and proudly induct him into the teenage section of KND.

**9. Telephone**

A sharp inhale shot through her lungs as Abigail Lincoln let the telephone slid through her fingers, the hospital's news of Nigel's critical condition ringing- no, **pounding**- in her ears; oh, why hadn't she been there to fight Father with him?

**10. Ears**

"Oh, for crying out loud, wear some earmuffs," nagged an exsaperated Abby, who forcibly slid the aforementioned earwear over Nigel's bare head, where they began to sweep warmth throughout his body; it was no mere coincidence that it was Abby who always provided this appreciated solace.

**11. Name**

They had both always been stuck with nicknames that never suited them, no matter how many times they were said- "Crabigail" wrought only profound regret and misery, while "Nigie" caused nothing but jarring pangs of disconcertion and, in the end, sorrow.

**12. Sensual**

Nigel didn't know when Abby's everyday contact became so sensual to him- he just knew that it did, and that he couldn't stop his nerves from rousing every time her hand brushed against his skin.

**13. Death**

Nigel tried to convince himself that with Abby decommissioned, it was a death in their family, but no, he had to keep correcting himself because it was a death of so much _more_.

**14. Sex**

Abby sympathetically turned on the lights herself, unable to contain an explosive chuckle at the faces- especially Nigel's- of her fellow teammates, who had just watched their very first sex education video, courtesy of Numbuh 5's father.

**15. Touch**

And she gripped his wrist with a vice-grip that could never be denied- and she lighted her hand upon his shoulder in the most delicate manner- and she pressed her body against his to tackle him to the ground; Nigel never fathomed that these simple gestures could be manifested into a new way of seeing life as he knew it.

**16. Weakness**

It was common knowledge that Nigel's weakness was his poor singing voice- and everyone overlooked the fact that he sang quite well in times past; no one ever dared to imagine that the sudden stage fright had something to do with how it was Abby who now asked him to sing.

**17. Tears**

He had his sleek sunglasses, she her overhanging hat; they both owned signature masks of which to hide their tears, and yet they also had leaking points that were only visible to each other.

**18. Speed**

"You're just jealous!" He accused sharply, and for the first time in her life, Abigail Lincoln reacted just too fast for her own good.

**19. Wind**

She came home, distraught, ready announce the misfortune that had befallen her that day- that her precious hat had been blown out of her reach in the vigorous storm- but before she could mutter a word, Nigel placed himself before her, holding out a very soggy but very much present red hat.

**20. Freedom**

_She_ caused this freedom, he'd remind himself, gratitude threatening to burst his heart; this freedom that was Kids Next Door.

**21. Life**

Even at a young age, Nigel Uno knew that children were the lifeblood of existence; Abby and his friends helped prove that.

**22. Jealousy**

The others didn't notice, because they were partaking in the hilarity, but even though Abby had made a witty joke at Nigel and Lizzie's romantic expense, she never laughed and merely watched the couple solemnly from the secluded sanctuary that her hat's enveloping shadows provided.

**23. Hands**

Always grasping out of necessity, not of romance- yet, as Numbuh 5 found herself tugging along Numbuh 1 more and more, her hands ceased their fumbling, and she finally locked her fingers around his, surpassing the sublevel of intimacy the wrist-hold forever portrayed.

**24. Taste**

The enriched flavor of ice cream dancing on her tongue, she could only look to that high-strung boy beside her, smiling, and savor the taste of this moment with a jovial comment of, "Man, I like it when things are too easy!"

**25. Devotion**

He regretted ever doubting her devotion to her job, to his orders, because he knew that their faith in each other meant more than either would admit.

**26. Forever**

"We'll be kids forever," Nigel told her on the eve of her 13th birthday, trying to console Abby in her hour of need, despite the fact that today was the very bane of every operative's existence- including his own.

**27. Blood**

It both disgusted them both that they had the blood of their sworn enemies- the ill-tempered Father, the malicious Cree- coursing through their veins, always aware of the emotional mayhem and haunting indecision that was liquid lifeforce caused outside.

**28. Sickness**

The guilt used to cling to her like a sickness, inhibiting her actions whenever she was around that poor boy, that innocent kid who was a victim of Abby's negligence, but that was long ago, before their relationship moved past that grim regret.

**29. Melody**

He heard it on his way out- that soft, mesmerizing melody that crawled into his ears and blocked out any other cacophony, wisping breezily out of the bathroom; it was Abby singing in the shower, a carefree action that invoked such magnetizing consonance that Nigel stayed a half hour later than planned just to listen to it.

**30. Star**

Abby couldn't help but notice that when the sun hit the shimmering glass of Nigel's eyewear just right, it sparkled with the impressive display of dazzling illumination that only a star possessed.

**31. Home**

He would gaze at the treehouse's magnificent beauty, admiring for all that it stood for, thinking of all that it held- him, Abby, Wally, Kuki, Hoagie, so much more- and he could only think of it as one thing- home.

**32. Confusion**

Nigel couldn't comprehend it; even though every fiber of his being was furious at Numbuh 5 for her crude words, those same syllables kept cycling in his head, and her image never left his mind.

**33. Fear**

The terror that was welling up in Abby, choking her, chilling her blood, had nothing to do with the fact that her mortality might be at stake; it derived from the prospect that Nigel would never be himself again.

**34. Lightning/Thunder**

Nigel remembered it vividly- when he was younger, he would run to Abby's house in the middle of a thunderstorm, just so he could hide under the covers with her, listening to the crackling lightning outside with trembling nerves, yet always feeling safe because of the warmth of a friend.

**35. Bonds**

For fifteen years and beyond, the password to Nigel Uno's bank account in which held his saving bonds was the single name he retained from his childhood- _Abigail._

**36. Market**

Abigail Lincoln was officially off the market, the boys groaned, and they took great care to direct their hostilities toward a certain bald leader of Sector V for this disappointment.

**37. Technology**

She taught him that all the 2x4 technology in the world couldn't amount to the dangerous lethality and power that he held within himself.

**38. Gift**

He didn't know whether to be infuriated at Abby for putting her life on the line for a simple gift that he hadn't even had the sense to appreciate, or to be wholeheartedly touched for the same reason.

**39. Smile**

The blinding rays that soaked into his skin and glistened in his eyes could not compare to the lustrous smile that she awoke him with every morning.

**40. Innocence**

Her loss of childhood innocence did not stem from decommissioning, she knew; it derived from the lack of his eternally-youthful presence in her life.

**41. Completion**

Sometimes, after completing a particularly troublesome mission together, she would buy him a soda in celebration and order a single cherry to soak in the drink, just how he liked it.

**42. Clouds**

Nigel and Abby would lay there in the leaves, the colorful canopy of the trees casting dancing shadows over their forms, and they would watch the clouds skimming by just overhead, just out of reach.

**43. Sky**

It was a dream that would haunt and intrigue him each night; he'd be spiraling helplessly, floating ever closer to the endless abyss of sky, his throat forming silent screams- and all at once, he'd suddenly be grounded by Abby's outstretched hand.

**44. Heaven**

They often talked about decommissioning like it was death- with no hope of heaven.

**45. Hell**

As voices rose to dangerous heights and matters were blown uncontrollably out of proportion, Abby and Nigel both realized that this mixture of anxiety, rage, heat, and hatred could not be far from the true allusion of Hell- and they would do anything to stop it.

**46. Sun**

As his eyes fluttered open, Nigel would see the sun's warm beams illuminating the dust through the window, but he would never be truly aware of its light until he saw _her_ lying beside him.

**47. Moon**

She'd catch him out on the balcony, gazing upwards with intent, and she would question his presence; he'd always point up to the sky wordlessly, gesturing to the faint, gentle, comforting outline of dusk's moon that appeared well before night fell.

**48. Waves**

He would stand in the sand, years later, the water chilling his ankles, and he'd think of Abby, hating the fact that now- after she had grown up and left him behind- he now enjoyed the beach only because the memories of _her_ were pulsing with each oncoming wave.

**49. Hair**

She always resented Lizzie, everyone knew- it irked Abby to no end that his supposed girlfriend had never known Nigel once had hair, had once saved the world, had once lost and then consequently found his childhood essence; what Abby herself had never known was that it had bothered _him_, too.

**50. Supernova**

And then one day it all just imploded- all the tension tasted, all the arguments shouted, all the wrong paths taken, all the emotions hidden- creating a mass of sentiments too overpowering to exist, one that was destined to supernova, the omniscient gravity pulling Abigail and Nigel together.


End file.
